Abstract

Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) is a student-run statistical consulting program that has been
serving its local community since 2001. Directed and staffed by graduate students from Purdue
University’s Department of Statistics, it provides professional consulting services to governmental
and nonprofit groups free of charge. Students work in teams to help community clients address
specific problems and needs. Past clients include school corporations, libraries, community
assistance programs, and the city of West Lafayette. Participation in STATCOM allows students
to apply statistical concepts and classroom material to solve real problems. It also develops
skills in leadership, management, and written and oral communication of results to the general
public. Though important for any future career in statistics, these skills are not typically
emphasized in graduate courses, research, or the on-campus academic consulting service.
The university and academic department also benefit through increased interaction and visibility
in the local community. STATCOM can serve as a model for integrating service learning into graduate
statistical education at other colleges and universities.

1. Introduction

There have been several efforts to implement service learning in undergraduate statistics courses
(e.g., Anderson and Sungur 1999;
Root and Thorme 2001).
Service learning also offers benefits to
graduate students; however, to our knowledge, no published examples demonstrate the successful
implementation of service learning in graduate statistical education. In this paper, we describe
a student-run consulting program that provides free, professional statistical consulting as a
volunteer service to local governmental and nonprofit organizations. The consulting program,
known as Statistics in the Community (STATCOM), is an alternative to classroom-based service
learning and can serve as a model for integrating service learning into graduate statistical
education at other colleges and universities.

STATCOM was founded in 2001 by Purdue University Statistics graduate students in response to a
university-wide effort to increase engagement with the surrounding community. Every semester,
35-40 students, or about one-third of the graduate students in the department, volunteer their
time to work in teams on one or more community projects. The number of projects for each
volunteer depends on the nature of the projects and the schedule of the student volunteer,
but involvement in more than three projects is rare. Most volunteers are masters or doctoral
students from the Department of Statistics, while a few are graduate students from other academic
departments or senior undergraduate students majoring in Statistics or Actuarial Science. The
time commitment from each student is rarely more than 2-3 hours per week, and students are free
to excuse themselves from projects should their coursework or other obligations demand more
attention.

In the past six years, STATCOM students have worked with over 35 community clients. The program’s
mission has also expanded to serve clients outside the University’s immediate surroundings and to
include activities such as P-12 outreach and undergraduate recruitment. The projects provide
opportunities for students to gain consulting experience while serving their community. One
unique aspect of the program is that student teams complete all aspects of a project outside of
the classroom with minimal faculty oversight.

2. Examples of Projects

Below are a few examples of past STATCOM clients, illustrating areas where graduate students have
engaged in service learning activities. The program maintains a strict confidentiality policy on
all projects (Appendix A). Clients have given permission to use their names and information in
the descriptions below. Section 2.6 includes a brief discussion of the more common types of
statistical questions that arise in these projects.

2.1 Lafayette School Corporation

STATCOM’s first client was the superintendent of the Lafayette School Corporation, who wanted to
study the impact of the state funding formula on the Corporation’s schools. The Lafayette School
Corporation employed many seasoned faculty members, and the superintendent was concerned that the
state of Indiana’s current funding formula may adversely impact school districts with experienced
employees. Students analyzed data on public school funding in Indiana, focusing on the relationships
between educational outcomes, teachers’ years of experience, and funding sources. A partial
correlation analysis revealed that the current funding formula did in fact penalize school districts
with more experienced employees. The results were used by state lawmakers to change some funding
policies. This project clearly demonstrated the contribution that graduate students could make in
their community and was a strong motivator for future involvement.

Schools can be a good source of projects, as they have large data sets on students’ performance over
time. Many school corporations are required by law to assess their performance. Other projects with
schools and school corporations have included an assessment of the performance of students admitted
under special circumstances, analysis of standardized test scores across grades, and development of
simple graphical methods to visualize large amounts of data.

2.2 Sagamore Parkway Task Force

The Sagamore Parkway Task Force was appointed by the mayor of West Lafayette to develop a
revitalization plan for an economically important corridor within the city. STATCOM students
worked with the task force to develop surveys assessing local residents’ and businesses’ opinions
on (1) what should be done to develop the area economically and (2) ways to fund that economic
development. The students advised the task force on survey implementation, analyzed the survey
results, and presented their findings in written reports and oral presentations at public meetings.
The survey results were used by the task force to formulate and prioritize their recommendations
to the mayor and city of West Lafayette. The city has subsequently begun implementation of many
of the task force’s recommendations.

The Sagamore Parkway Task Force project had many desirable outcomes. Students regularly attended
and participated in public meetings, allowing them to observe and contribute to the public process
while developing their abilities to understand the client’s needs and to communicate with a general
audience. Members of the task force and the public also had the opportunity to ask questions of
the students, thereby increasing statistical literacy among local residents and decision makers.
In particular, members of the city government gained experience in how to conduct a meaningful
survey and prepare the responses for statistical analysis.

The task force’s activities received significant media coverage, which provided publicity for STATCOM
and increased awareness in the local community of the services the organization offers. Prior to the
Sagamore Parkway Task Force project, students would actively seek out clients; after the project was
completed, clients have regularly sought STATCOM’s help, and it is currently unnecessary for students
to search for clients or projects.

The project also led to a positive and ongoing relationship between STATCOM and the West Lafayette
city government. STATCOM students have subsequently helped the city to design, implement, and
analyze several other surveys including a survey of residents’ satisfaction with city services,
which was used for the city’s strategic planning process, and an assessment of residents’ and
business owners’ opinions on parking concerns in a commercial area of the city. The mayor and
members of the city’s Office of Development have referred other potential clients, including other
local governmental agencies, to STATCOM.

2.3 Other Community Projects

STATCOM has successfully completed a variety of other community projects. For example, a team of
students analyzed data on the frequency of checkouts at the West Lafayette Public Library to
determine which collections were most popular and which were being underutilized. The project
allowed students to work with a large data set and conduct an in-depth analysis using loglinear
models. The results assisted the client in their allocation of limited resources. For example,
certain relatively expensive collections were more likely to be used frequently by library patrons,
suggesting that new items should be purchased for these collections despite the greater cost per item.

In addition to schools, cities, and libraries, STATCOM has completed many interesting projects
for local nonprofit organizations. A retirement home wanted to assess residents’ satisfaction
with the quality of their food services. A community music organization wanted to identify potential
donors in a more cost-effective manner. A drug rehabilitation center wanted to evaluate the
effectiveness of an educational program in keeping its clients drug-free for a certain period
of time. Occasionally, the university has also served as a client. For example, an assessment
of on-campus parking usage by students living in university residence halls was used to plan for
future residence hall parking needs. Each of these clients’ problems was translated into a
straightforward statistical question that the STATCOM students were able to address.

2.4 P-12 Outreach

Many academic departments have or are interested in developing P-12 outreach programs. This is
an area where graduate students could contribute significantly. Some statistics students come to
graduate school with a P-12 teaching background, and others are interested in teaching careers
after graduation. In 2004, STATCOM students decided to establish a P-12 outreach program to
design and carry out educational activities in the classroom and at community events including
local and state fairs.

There has been strong interest and participation by Statistics graduate students in P-12 outreach
activities. Students enjoy the creative challenge of designing P-12 activities and the educational
aspect of implementing them. Because P-12 events generally last only one or two days, they also
suit students who are interested in community service but cannot commit to a longer term consulting
project. Many students view P-12 activities as a break from their regular responsibilities and
enjoy the opportunity to work with young children. Regardless of their motivations, students
provide a valuable service to their department as well as the community through participation
in these activities.

STATCOM’s P-12 outreach program complements other P-12 efforts, including those sponsored by the
American Statistical Association (ASA). Activities are designed and conducted by graduate
students; the program operates at the local rather than national or chapter level; P-12 students
are often targeted at events and programs outside the classroom; and interaction is primarily
with P-12 students rather than with their teachers. One popular outreach activity is the STATCOM
booth at a local community spring festival attended annually by thousands of P-12 children.
The activities at the booth have ranged from constructing bar graphs using colored candies to
studying a random sampling scheme based on rolling dice. Activities conducted with junior and
senior high school students who attend on-campus summer programs typically cover concepts in
probability, appropriate methods for visualizing different types of data, and introductory data
analysis. Tutoring at-risk youth enrolled in a county-level community program is another way
to reach P-12 students outside the classroom. Weekly enrichment activities at a rural elementary
school provide otherwise unavailable resources and ongoing mentoring for young children.

All activities are designed to be age-appropriate, focus on fundamental statistical concepts, and
benefit from light-hearted and energetic presentations by STATCOM volunteers. Some of STATCOM’s
activities require funding for materials, and this is particularly true for the P-12 program.
Though the department or college may have funds available for P-12 outreach, exploring other
sources of funding provides valuable experience for students, especially for those seeking
academic careers.

2.5 Undergraduate Outreach

STATCOM students have given presentations in several undergraduate courses. There are four main
target audiences for these presentations: incoming freshmen, undergraduates in non-technical
fields, undergraduates in technical fields outside of statistics, and statistics majors. The
goals, content, and discussion topics for a presentation depend on the relevance of statistics
to the given audience and to the course objectives.

Many incoming freshmen have not chosen a major and may not be aware of the opportunities in
statistics. A presentation to this audience describes the variety of career opportunities in
statistics, applications of statistics to emerging areas of research, and the contributions of
statistics to society. The primary purpose is to encourage students to take statistics courses
and to consider a major or career in the field.

Undergraduates majoring in non-technical fields often have limited quantitative backgrounds.
Many will take an introductory statistics course that emphasizes statistical concepts without
extensive application. Presentations to this audience emphasize the role statistics plays in
society, with specific examples drawn from completed consulting projects. Detailed examples
are used to illustrate and motivate basic statistical concepts that are taught in the course,
e.g., the importance of random sampling and the appropriate interpretation of confidence intervals.

Students majoring in the sciences and social sciences will likely encounter statistics in their
careers and may someday conduct a statistical analysis themselves or work with a statistical
consultant. Undergraduates studying these disciplines may take one or two introductory
statistics courses that involve the use of statistical software. Presentations to this
audience describe the need for and application of statistics to their disciplines. The
process of working with a statistician may also be discussed.

Statistics and actuarial science majors can be shown the opportunities and benefits of graduate
studies in statistics. Recruitment efforts benefit both the department and the undergraduate
students, since graduate students can address issues and questions that recruiting faculty may
not be able to address. In addition, interested undergraduates are encouraged to join STATCOM
teams, and their interaction with graduate students can motivate them to pursue graduate studies
or help them to see additional applications for the material presented in their undergraduate courses.

Statistics graduate students also benefit from this “undergraduate outreach.” Presentation
skills are improved, a greater appreciation is developed for the needs and backgrounds of a wide
range of audiences, and the ability to communicate with such audiences is enhanced. This benefits
statistics graduate students who will work with non-statisticians in various fields as well as
those who pursue academic careers.

2.6 Types of Statistical Questions

Defining the statistical question to be addressed by community service consulting is nontrivial.
A detailed understanding of the needs and resources of a community organization is necessary to
formulate a clear statistical question. For example, in the Sagamore Parkway Task Force project,
the population of interest needed to be clarified and a sampling frame identified prior to
selection of a random sample. The consulting team considered available population lists,
including lists of public utility account holders, property tax payers, and mailing addresses.
Ultimately the Sagamore Parkway Task Force sampled mailing addresses so that the random sample
would represent those who lived in the local community, including the substantial population of
renters who do not pay property tax and may not hold public utility accounts. STATCOM volunteers
do not directly conduct surveys (such as physically telephoning or mailing the surveys), but the
consulting team did provide advice to ensure a simple random sample when the task force used an
outside list broker to select the sample.

STATCOM students also help clients understand the analysis performed so that they reach appropriate
conclusions. For this reason, the projects are often limited to “simple” statistical approaches
that the clients could themselves explain to their colleagues and to the general public.

Many of the STATCOM projects involve survey design and analysis, including improvement of response
rates. Often simple summary statistics from existing data are utilized, such as in an analysis
of client or donor characteristics. Effective graphical summaries of data are highly important
in these projects, especially when clients express concern about their own quantitative background.
Some projects involve regression approaches, but rarely do the needs of the client require anything
beyond the undergraduate or introductory graduate level. In the event that the analysis requires
higher-level statistical tools, the client can be referred to more appropriate consulting services.

3. Typical Project Cycle and Outcomes

STATCOM students work on all aspects of a project with a client, starting with the initial
contact. If a student-run service is still not well-known in the community, it will be necessary
for students to actively seek community clients. The STATCOM student director typically makes
cold contacts with potential clients to explain the program and discuss past (or potential)
projects in an effort to stimulate interest. Clients may not have a clear understanding of
how statistical consulting could benefit them. Faculty and staff members typically have
contacts in the community that could serve as a good place to start. County officials and a
local registry of non-profit entities have also served as resources for finding potential
clients.

Once contact has been made, a team of students is organized to attend an initial meeting, which
typically occurs at the client’s location. The team includes a student with prior consulting
experience who is designated as the team leader. One of the student leaders of STATCOM also
attends the initial meeting to advise on the project design, timeline, and implementation.
The main purpose of the initial meeting is to define the project and the students’ responsibilities.
A timeline is developed for the completion of the project, and arrangements are made for follow-up
meetings with the client.

After meeting with the client, the team meets to discuss plans to complete the project, and
subsequent team meetings are held as needed. Because the students have limited time to commit
to these projects, it is important for the workload to be shared so that the project can be
completed on time without overwhelming individual students. As part of the students’ work,
a final report is written for the client. The project’s statistical aspects and results are
described at a level appropriate for the client. A final presentation is made to the client,
occasionally at a public meeting. Most clients use this final meeting as an opportunity to
ask questions and provide feedback on the students’ work. While research and on-campus academic
consulting experiences also include written and oral communication of results, the reports provided
by STATCOM are for a more non-technical audience. The nature of this audience usually requires
the consulting team to better understand basic statistical ideas as they communicate them in the
written and oral reports.

4. Organizational Structure

As a volunteer organization, STATCOM relies on students giving their time, but never at the expense
of their academic responsibilities. The organizational structure of STATCOM allows for flexible
scheduling of work and the involvement of many students in leadership roles. While all graduate
students in the Department of Statistics are invited to participate, the extent of their involvement
depends on their level of interest, experience, and available time.

Leadership of the organization is shared by two students who serve six-month terms as director or
associate director. The director and associate director organize teams of students from a pool
of volunteers to work with specific clients. They also appoint a team leader for each team.
A team usually consists of 4-5 students, with the team leader, another experienced consultant,
and other less experienced students who learn from interaction with the more experienced students
on the team. Two project managers each oversee the general direction of a group of teams.
One motivation for the project manager position is to give leadership opportunities to masters
students, as these students are seldom in the department long enough to become director or associate
director. A past director serves as a student advisor to the organization, providing continuity
across academic years, serving as an additional resource for the student leaders, and decreasing
the organization’s dependence on faculty advising.

STATCOM students meet biweekly with each other to discuss the progress of their projects and to
seek advice from other students. Peer mentoring builds a body of expertise among the students,
further limiting dependence on direct faculty involvement. These biweekly meetings also allow a
large number of students to participate in decision-making. Regular student presentations on
statistical consulting and data analysis projects during these meetings allow experienced students
to practice their communication skills with a statistical audience, while newer students learn
about statistical methodology.

5. Benefits

The volunteer consulting service offers the community the obvious benefit of free consulting.
Community clients apply statistically sound methods to solve their problems and learn how to apply
such methods to meet future needs. They also develop an ongoing partnership with the academic
department and university. In some cases, the involvement of student consultants is specifically
beneficial as they are viewed as an unbiased third party when there is disagreement over an issue
within a client institution or when there is public or political debate regarding an issue.

The department and university benefit from increased interaction and visibility in the local
community while developing strong relationships with community organizations and the local
government. Involving graduate students as well as faculty and staff leads to an overall increase
in community engagement by the academic department and university. In the process, the department
and university work towards fulfilling the service component of their mission statement.

Satisfaction from applying statistical skills to provide significant service and fulfill community
needs is a primary motivator for student involvement in STATCOM. However, there is also a
significant educational component to participation that supplements graduate training through
coursework, teaching, and research. Students develop skills in teamwork, leadership, and
management of an organization of 40 or more volunteers who conduct multiple, simultaneous, and
often long-term projects. Working with non-technical audiences and attending client and public
meetings improve oral and written communication skills. As most clients have little or no
statistical training, students gain experience in understanding a client’s needs and constraints
as they are described in non-technical language, translating those needs into a statistical problem,
applying the appropriate statistical tools, and reporting findings in a format that is
understandable and useful for the client. Communication skills are further developed during
the biweekly group meetings as students practice consulting presentations and discuss ongoing
projects, lessons learned from completed projects, and solutions to specific consulting problems
as they arise. Oral and poster presentations, journal articles, and other publications also
contribute to students’ professional development.

Because students work on all aspects of a project with a client, they learn consulting skills that
may not be acquired or emphasized in an on-campus academic consulting service. The students seek
out projects or respond to potential clients’ initial inquiries. After discussion with the client,
the students must assess whether they have the resources to meet the client’s needs within the
required timeframe. After the details of the project are determined at the initial meeting,
the students form a project timeline with the client and may help the client to assess the cost
of the project (e.g., the cost of conducting a mail survey). Because students may not always
have the perspective to foresee the demands or difficulties in every project at the outset,
the consulting teams need to make clear to the client that the students’ primary obligations
are to their coursework. While the consulting is provided as a good-will community service,
the only guarantee is a good-faith effort at the projected timeline. At the same time, the
students know that the reputation of the STATCOM program (and its ability to find future projects)
depends on the successful completion of each project. In our experience, the consulting teams
will exceed expectations more often than not, and the client will understand a change to the
timeline as long as it is adequately communicated.

After understanding the client’s needs and objectives, the students must identify the statistical
problem and outline what they can and cannot do for the client. They must then agree on the
appropriate methodology, recognizing that though many approaches and analyses are possible, not
all of these would adequately answer the client’s questions. Although students’ coursework may
have emphasized data analysis, design of the project and especially interpretation of the results
may be the most critical aspects of these projects.

During a project, students may need to advise the client on methods of gathering or organizing data.
This provides many students with their first experience in evaluating “messy data” that might be
poorly organized or contain errors. Students may also need to address the ethical and legal
requirements of handling human subject data. For example, some clients may inadvertently provide
data sets that include sensitive or identifying information on subjects. In the initial meeting,
it is helpful to advise clients on how to remove such identifying information before sending data
to the consulting team. This places the burden of data de-identification on the client. The
initial meeting also serves as a natural point to discuss the confidentiality policy. Because
of the voluntary nature of the STATCOM consulting program, the only real penalty for violations
of the confidentiality policy (which we have never experienced) is the suspension of the violating
student’s involvement in the STATCOM program.

Throughout the project, there is a need to document all activities, to handle problems as they arise,
and to ensure that the team stays on schedule and the client’s needs are properly addressed. At
the end of each project, feedback from the client and discussion among student consultants are
necessary to identify potential areas for improvement on future projects.

These skills and experiences are useful to any student, regardless of whether they are seeking a
career in academia, industry, government, or elsewhere. The STATCOM program also offers some
less tangible but significant benefits for senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students.
Consulting teams are designed to accommodate two or more beginning students. These students
become involved in the practice of statistics earlier in their education, often before they
have completed the coursework necessary to join an on-campus consulting service. Discussions
with STATCOM students indicate that such participation is a strong motivator for some students
who are involved only in coursework and are unsure of their career or educational goals or
lack confidence in doing independent work. Newer students also benefit from interaction with
and mentorship from senior students.

STATCOM consultants work with many different groups of their peers as they complete consulting
projects. Students form friendships in STATCOM that carry over into their coursework. It
is not uncommon to see a STATCOM team assembled to study and complete homework together.
This camaraderie continues as students work together to prepare for qualifying exams and
discuss their thesis research. Thus the emphasis on teamwork creates a greater sense of
collaboration and community within the student body that extends itself into other areas.
In addition, the team projects and biweekly meetings allow interaction between groups of
students that may otherwise have limited interaction. Examples we have observed include
graduate students with undergraduates, students in theoretical statistics with those in applied
statistics, statistics students with those in other academic disciplines, masters students with
doctoral students, and domestic students with international students. Experiences in pro bono
statistical consulting during graduate school prepare all students, regardless of their interests
or background, to engage in similar community service as they pursue their careers.

6. Challenges

The organizational structure of a student-run consulting service must be flexible to accommodate
students’ schedules, and it must ensure continuity over time as student leaders and experienced
consultants graduate. STATCOM’s organizational structure has been designed to distribute
responsibilities and involve many students in decision-making. This prepares interested students
for senior leadership positions. While experience in teamwork is valuable in itself, the
organizational structure also allows individual students to restrict volunteer activities when
more time is needed for other responsibilities. Interaction between newer and more senior students
within individual teams and within the larger group develops consultants’ skills and builds
expertise within the body of students, helping to ensure continuity over time. The organizational
structure should also evolve as new needs arise. For example, the project manager positions were
created to facilitate significant contributions by two additional experienced students. The project
managers can advise and assess the progress of an increasing number of project teams.

Potential clients are unlikely to be aware of the student-run consulting service as it is being
established, and student consultants may need to seek out their first several clients. Many students
do not establish strong community ties while in graduate school, and referrals from faculty and
staff are therefore very beneficial. Over time, relationships are developed between the student-
run consulting program and community institutions, and potential clients will seek the program’s
services without being actively approached by student consultants. The students’ challenge then
includes assessment of their capacity to accept new clients.

Faculty and departmental support is essential to the ongoing success of the program. Specifically,
the encouragement from graduate research advisors for their students to pursue these extra-curricular
(and non-research-focused) activities helps foster a healthy supply of volunteers. In addition,
the STATCOM program benefits from permission for meeting space and the availability of faculty
time to field occasional student questions. Since the primary focus is community service, the
benefits of involvement to students or the academic department may not be apparent to faculty
advisors when students have other responsibilities such as coursework, teaching, and research.
A clear statement of the program’s objectives and documentation of activities and outcomes help
to communicate the program’s benefits to the department and to graduate students’ education.

The student-run nature of the program poses particular challenges when problems arise. The student
leaders must develop procedures to identify problems early, know when a project is off schedule,
and make decisions when there is disagreement over methodology. They must also promptly address
situations in which fellow students do not follow accepted procedures. If work is not shared equally
among team members, for example, the STATCOM director can meet with the team to discuss cooperation
and delegation, or make team reassignments. Since all work is voluntary, participation should be a
positive experience for all. However, it is crucial to maintain professionalism and quality of
service.

Given the transitory nature of the graduate student population, documentation is an essential
component of continuity. This information is necessary for recordkeeping on activities and services
rendered and also serves as a resource for future consultants. Student leaders must decide what
information to record, the format for keeping and storing records, and who is responsible for the
documentation. Since all work is voluntary, keeping accurate and up-to-date records can be a
challenge for the organization.

7. Factors of Success

The success of the STATCOM program is evidence that service learning in graduate statistics
education need not be classroom-based. Community service in the context of a course limits the
services students could provide for a client. The client’s needs may not match the course’s
objectives, or the client’s schedule may not match the timeframe of the course. Many experiences
that would be valuable to students, such as making initial contact with a client and deciding on
the feasibility and appropriateness of a project, may be performed by the faculty member
supervising the course. These tasks may be time-consuming and cause problems for the faculty
member or course if the client drops the project or takes longer than expected to provide necessary
information or data.

Because students volunteer to handle all aspects of a STATCOM project, their motivations are very
different than they would be in a course. Students develop a sense of ownership and assume full
responsibility for their work. The project is adaptable and not limited by the academic calendar
or course syllabus; it is instead developed only to meet the needs and deadlines of the client.
Nevertheless, it still has educational value for the students, and its benefits lead most students
to continue involvement in future projects.

Institutional commitment is most important to the program’s success. STATCOM is viewed as an
integral and permanent part of the Statistics Department. It is featured on the department’s
website, and articles on its activities appear regularly in departmental publications. Information
on the program is a regular part of graduate student orientation, and a “STATCOM Community
Service Award” is given annually to one or more graduate students for leadership demonstrated
within the program. Students are encouraged by the faculty to get involved in STATCOM activities
as a supplement to their education.

8. Available Resources

This paper describes the structure and many advantages of a student-run statistical consulting
service. The service benefits the community while enriching graduate student education and
highlighting the academic department and university. The STATCOM program in the Department
of Statistics at Purdue University offers a successful model for implementing service learning
for graduate students in statistics and mathematics departments at other colleges and universities.
Starting such a program requires a core of interested graduate students as well as a supportive
academic department and faculty. The STATCOM group is willing to work with groups who are
interested in starting pro bono consulting programs at other colleges and universities. It
also shares resource materials, including the following:

Appendix A. Confidentiality form required for student consultants.

Purdue University

Statistics in the Community (STATCOM)

POLICY REGARDING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

In order to promote a free exchange of information and complete openness with clients, Statistics in the
Community (STATCOM) maintains a policy of strict confidentiality on all projects. When requested by the
client, confidentiality statements will be signed. However, only the Purdue forms will be used for this
purpose.

Any other information or items that could reveal our work with a client to people or groups outside of
the STATCOM staff, management and faculty.

With the consent of the client and the STATCOM manager, information may be given to persons outside of
STATCOM on an as needed basis. This situation usually occurs when a faculty colleague is consulted on
a project, or when a referral is being made. With the consent of the client, information about the
client and a project may be used for various promotional purposes such as annual reports, brochures,
newspaper articles, job interviews, etc.

No information may be disclosed without the full knowledge and consent of STATCOM and the client.

_________________________________

______________

Signature

Date

_________________________________
Full Name (please print)

Acknowledgement

The athors would like to thank the Manager of the Statistical Consulting Service Regina Becker,
Department Head Mary Ellen Bock, Professor George McCabe, staff member Teena Seele, and the other
faculty and staff in the Department of Statistics at Purdue University for their support of the STATCOM
program. They would also like to thank Thomas H. Short (Indiana University of Pennsylvania),
Debra L. Hydorn (University of Mary Washington), Brian Jersky (Sonoma State University),
and K. B. Boomer (The Pennsylvania State University) for their comments and contributions.

This paper was presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings 2005 at the invited session on “Service
Learning in Undergraduate and Graduate Statistics Education,” sponsored by the Section on Statistical
Education and organized and chaired by Thomas H. Short, Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The authors all served as directors of the Statistics in the Community (STATCOM) program at Purdue University.